Studying with Purpose

I have to admit that there are times when I get a little down about my studies. I look at how much time I have left (probably 4-5 years) and it seems like it will be forever before I graduate. Of course, it comes back to that whole steady plodding thing. If I keep taking my classes as I'm able I will get there eventually.

The key is to stay motivated. Greek is starting to come a bit easier now that I'm making daily time for it. I've really enjoyed my time reading the New Testament in the original language. I'm looking forward to my second year of it as well as my Old Testament survey classes. I'm even looking forward to my missions class this summer, though I don't necessarily feel like I have the heart for overseas missions. Just learning more about God and His Word certainly keeps me motivated.

However, I've found that I sometimes need a variety of motivations to keep me going through trials. I suspect that it's just human nature to get desensitized to some things over time. A conversation with a coworker this morning helped me tremendously. Gene has been with the Bank for 27 years. In other words, he started when I was 6. I asked him if he stayed because he was really happy or if it was just because he never felt compelled to leave. He said it was the latter.

Now there isn't necessarily anything wrong with being at a job for 27 years. I have an uncle who is going to retire from a place after working there most of his life and I can see much value in that. The thing is that I know that I will never leave unless I have a good reason. As I've documented in this blog, I have a longing for something more in life. I think that vocational ministry is part of that. I'm pretty sure it's not doing IT work forever. It's one thing to say that I want to change careers, but I'm just blowing smoke unless I'm actively doing something about it. Hearing Gene's story helps to motivate me to keep working at the change.